The EDM scene continues to evolve and new artists keep poppin’ up that really have that connection to an audience with their productions. One artist that I’ve discovered over the past few years of this film journey is the maestro known as Zedd. This multi-talented musician has been delivering hit after hit that has taken the EDM culture to the mainstream. Only a handful of artists are doing that right now which makes him part of an elite group of DJ/Producers. The reality is – this guy has got the goods in the production department. His tracks are very catchy, upbeat, and his use of vocals and fun relatable lyrics in his songs, make it easy to understand why he’s become so popular with this generation of party goers. 2014 was a big year that gave him a Grammy for his single ‘Clarity’ and the respect he deserves within the overall music community.

Zedd started with music in his daily routine from early childhood on. Born Anton Zaslavski and raised in Kaiserslautern, Germany by two classically trained musicians, he began playing the piano at the age of four and built up his knowledge of the Classical repertoire throughout his childhood, at times writing a song a day. At age twelve, Anton learned to play the drums and, soon after he began performing with the post-hardcore/metal trio Dioramic. As a preteen he was already composing and producing numerous rock songs in his band’s own studio. As the aughts progressed, Anton’s awareness of other genres widened, and in 2009 his interest in producing electronic music was piqued after hearing the French electronic duo Justice. With his gift for musicality and background in instrumentation, composition and production, the move into the realm of electronic dance music was seamless.

2009 proved to be a watershed year for Zedd. It was during this year that he began producing electronic music, and within an incredibly short period of time amassed widespread critical and audience acclaim. Within a few months of beginning his production work, Zedd won two Beatport remix contests, the “Armand Van Helden / Strictly Rhythm Remix Contest” and the “Fatboy Slim / Skint Remix Contest”. These critical wins gave the budding artists the notoriety and clout to catch the interest of Skrillex who essentially found him on the net and signed him to his new OWSLA label. He caught the ear of Interscope A&R Dave Rene and Interscope Geffen A&M Chairman Jimmy Iovine and successfully released several official remixes for powerhouse artists such as Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas, P. Diddy, Swedish House Mafia and Skrillex on labels including mau5trap, Interscope, and EMI.